Letters from a TCK dog
Reiley’s Shivers
Degree by degree
Hi! I’m Reiley the TCK dog. That’s Third Culture Kid. I moved with my family to a totally new country and I write home about it. I wrote two letters that you might like to catch up on before you read this one. Thanks for joining my adventure! I have no idea where this will lead.
Dear Sasha,
We did go to the park. Thank you for your note. I met a bunch of dogs. Their owners speak very weird. I’m starting to think the short haired female on the other side of the fence just doesn’t understand me. Anyway, there are some things all dogs understand so we got along at the park. The ball got chased, the stick got fetched and they confirmed that they were coming out of a long period of very cold weather and that is why the whole park was frozen from one end to the other.
The family wears coats to go outside. All the other dogs have thick coats but I never had a chance to grow one. I shiver and pick up my paws because my toes ache with cold. Everyone laughs at me. They say it will get warmer.
I learned that this is not the first time the family has moved. The father works at something that people do all over the place, at great distances from each other. The likelihood that I’ll go into a moving cage in one of those dark, stinky, noisy things is very high. I don’t like to think about it.
love, Reiley
Dear Reiley,
That is a really good insight about there being certain things all dogs understand and can get behind. Balls are great unifiers. So are sticks. If humans used them the right way, like we dogs do, instead of beating up on each other, we dogs would have better lives.
I am sorry to break this news to you, but that period of cold will come back after a period of warm. Just like here it gets wet and dry, there, it sounds like it gets cold and hot. These are called seasons. Next cold season though, you will grow a thicker coat and you won’t notice it the same way.
Don’t think about the noisy, stinky thing. Maybe it will bring you back to us.
love, Sasha and the gang
Thank you for reading about my adventures. I hope you caught up on the previous letters. My alter ego has traveled the globe as a kid and has a lot of compassion for me when I feel lost and afraid. https://leoshine.micandpen.com/
